Many modern mobile telephones can be answered using either an earpiece answer mode, a headset answer mode or a speakerphone answer mode. The headset answer mode requires an external headset accessory, comprising an earpiece and microphone, to be operatively coupled to the telephone by wires or a radio link. The earpiece answer mode is a conventional telephone answering mode where audio data concerning an incoming call, such as a caller's voice, is emitted using a low volume speaker that is an integral part of the telephone. In the earpiece mode of operation the audio data is generally heard only when an earpiece of the telephone is held close to a callee's ear. The speakerphone answer mode generally emits audio data using a higher volume so that the audio data can be heard by a callee from a reasonable distance, such as 1-4 feet from the speaker that is an integral part of the telephone. Similarly, the earpiece answer mode generally uses a less sensitive telephone microphone setting because callees generally speak directly into a telephone microphone when using an earpiece answer mode, and a speakerphone answer mode generally uses a more sensitive telephone microphone setting because a speakerphone answer mode is generally intended to receive sounds from a reasonable distance, such as 1-4 feet from the speaker that is an integral part of the telephone.
The earpiece answer mode is generally activated on a mobile telephone simply by pressing an answer key located on a keypad of the telephone. A speakerphone answer mode is generally activated on a mobile telephone in a more complicated manner, such as using a soft key that is selected from a menu shown on a display screen of a telephone. Also, the headset answer mode requires an external headset accessory to be either physically coupled to the mobile telephone or wireless coupled by using soft keys.
Answering a mobile telephone using an earpiece answer mode while simultaneously performing an activity, where a user's hands and vision are preoccupied can be cumbersome. Various devices and techniques for enabling mobile telephones to be answered in a hands-free and head-up manner have therefore been developed. Such devices and techniques include the use of peripheral devices such as headsets and docking stations that enable a mobile telephone to be answered when a user is not holding the telephone. For example, a mobile telephone docking station attached to a vehicle's dashboard can be wirelessly coupled to a headset, or can cause a mobile telephone to automatically answer an incoming call in a speakerphone answer mode when a mobile telephone is positioned in the docking station.
However, peripheral devices such as headsets are extra equipment that need to be carried along with a mobile telephone, which is not always convenient. Further, peripheral devices such as docking stations can be bulky and are generally not easily portable, and thus are often conveniently useable only in a single location, such as in a single vehicle.